Latest personal Blog

Well it feels very strange writing this post as never in my wildest dreams did I believe that this would happen.

I started Disneyfind back in May 2014, I was on maternity leave with James and he was such a well behaved baby that I found after the baby groups, swimming, baby sensory, baby song etc that I had a lot of time on my hands. It was just as Instagram’s popularity was increasing and I thought it would be a good place to share Disney products in one place.

You can see from my first few posts that I only had 12 likes and I didn’t really know what I was doing, but what I did realise quite early on was that I really enjoyed it.

I don’t think I even told some my friends and family what I was doing for a year or so… I think I worried about what they would think. In fact, I remember when I did tell my group of friends and they burst out laughing. They thought I was crazy and couldn’t get their head around the fact that I was doing something like this for fun. The only person who seemed interested in what I was doing at that point was Gareth, he could see that I enjoyed it and he is such a lovely husband that I think he would encourage anything that makes me happy.

So, I kind of got into the swing of things and I think that as the page grew, so did my LOVE for Disneyfind and my love for all things Disney grew even bigger and look where I am now.

I can’t believe that this was the first post that I made as it pretty much sums up what the page means to me.

Now look where I am!

Wow 😳

I can’t quite believe how my page has grown. I can’t believe that there are so many like minded people in the world, adults who love Disney as much as me – who would have thought?

I can’t believe how genuinely lovely almost every single person I have interacted with on Disneyfind is to me. This is what shocks me more than anything! I see so much on other posts or in the media about negativity and bad attitudes but I can honestly say I have only had one incident that I would say I found upsetting. Nearly every single person that I have come across has been kind, supportive and that means so much to me. As this is something that is so important to me on a personal level. I mean social media should be a place where people feel safe and valued. I want my page to create a culture of kindness as that is what I would expect if I were to meet any of you in real life.
Yeah, so thank you guys! Thank you for following me, thanks for the likes and comments, thank you for messaging me or tagging me in your photos. I know I don’t always respond and I feel terrible for that but it is not because I am rude ( I’m really not!) it’s just that I am juggling Disneyfind at times with a full time job as well as having a family so doing all of the regular stuff, dealing with teenage angst, changing nappies, feeding them all!, washing, cleaning ( well Gareth cleans most of the time) but I am sure that you get the picture. I feel like I have been really juggling my life for the last three years.

So, a few weeks ago I made a decision and I have handed in my notice at school.

I am giving up my job!

For those who don’t know my background, I have worked at a High School in Newcastle for 12 years as a Head of Year and in a different role more recently. I can’t begin to explain to you how much I have loved working with young people over these past 12 years. I was only 23 when I started at the school and I have grown so much in both confidence and experience over the years. I will never forget the young people that I have helped and cared for throughout my time at the school. I am one of those people who puts everything into their job and even when I went home in the evening that didn’t stop me worrying about the students. I feel privileged to have been given such a responsible role and I hope that they feel I have helped them as much as I could.

So there are two reasons why I am giving up my job. As much as I love my job, my passion is Disneyfind and I have decided to put my heart and soul into it and pursue it as a full time job.

The second reason is that working in a school can be very tough on a family. When Aoife was a little girl I missed out on lots of things that I would have loved to see, school plays, sports days, assemblies, as I had no choice. I was a single mam who had to work to pay the rent on our little council flat that I would eventually buy ( I was so proud that I managed to achieve this) I worked so that we could survive as at that point in my life Aoife and I only had each other. So now that I am older and in a far different position, I want to be there for my family as much as I can, without feeling guilty at school, Disneyfind allows me to do this. It gives me the flexibility to work but also and more importantly to put my family first.

I don’t know how it will work or if I will make a success of it but you never know unless you try and do you know what? I am going to try.

I have been very lucky to have built up a working relationship with a number of brands over the last year or so and and this is part of the reason why I have made this decision . I am particularly proud to be continuing my partnership with Disney Store. Can I just say that they have been amazing towards me and I value any interaction I have with them.

I just know that if I don’t try to make a go of it then it might be something that I regret! I also sent some wonderful gifts from companies and I am such a big fan myself that I get so excited about this. I particularly love the handmade gifts that I am sent and I love to promote small businesses and to see the love that goes into creating their products .

I have so many amazing things going on in my life at the minute and I am sure that there will be times when I regret or question my decision but you just have to take the leap sometimes.

Gareth and I have just celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary and over the next few weeks I am visiting Disneyland Paris, preparing for Christmas and attending a few amazing events. I am also going to visit my brother in San Francisco ( he bought me tickets!) So I am definitely on a high at the minute and I just hope that this is something that will continue.

So wish me luck and I hope that my journey continues with the support of all of you lovely people and my close family and friends! It also means that I will be able to reply to your messages or like your pictures so please continue sending them. I will have more time to Disneyfind and think of other creative ways to share my passion with you all.

In the words of Walt himself and from the first post I ever made – All of your dreams come true if you have the courage to pursue them!